Australia
Ball's Pyramid
Welcome to Ball's Pyramid — a towering, needle-shaped rock rising straight out of the Pacific Ocean near Australia. It's the tallest sea stack on Earth, and it kept an amazing secret for 80 years.
Why is it famous?
It's the tallest volcanic sea stack in the world, soaring 562 meters (1,844 feet) straight up out of the ocean — that's taller than the Empire State Building!
It's all that's left of a huge volcano that mostly wore away into the sea millions of years ago.
How did it form?
About 6.4 million years ago, a volcano erupted here and built up a much bigger island.
Over millions of years, wind and crashing ocean waves slowly wore almost all of it away, leaving only this one incredibly tough, narrow spike of rock standing.
Amazing facts
A huge stick insect called the Lord Howe Island stick insect was thought to be completely extinct for 80 years.
In 2001, scientists climbing Ball's Pyramid found a tiny group of these 'extinct' insects living under a single bush!
Quick facts
- A huge stick insect called the Lord Howe Island stick insect was thought to be completely extinct for 80 years.
- In 2001, scientists climbing Ball's Pyramid found a tiny group of these 'extinct' insects living under a single bush!
- The insect is nicknamed the 'tree lobster' because of its shiny, hard, lobster-like body.
- Climbers first reached the very top of Ball's Pyramid in 1965.